Lion Head Mesa I have the honor to be

Pathways through the desert will vanish to the whiteout of a blistering noon. This is the proper order of things, how it is decided by the wastes who may pass. How will lungs take to thick loamy air? And paws that with every step sink into greedy throats of sand? Or a shimmering sea revealed to be a dancing thermal ploy? The desert tests all who seek to cross her.

And many will fail, their sun-parched remains a passageway laid with death. There’s a hollow toll as a guff of air draws dust against ossein, which to Sutekh is a song.

It is good to be home.

On the horizon sweeps a grand red mesa, stark against the flat golden sands. Shedding power, reaching for the jackal in invisible tendrils. His voice lifts into a dry trill, resonant still against the trials. An offer of service to the deshret who dwell here.

she had meant to always be attending to miss Toula, as that was her job as a lowly fellahin. but tuna had excused herself upon hearing the warble of a stranger upon the border, and of course the promise to return either with a stranger in tow or a tail between her teeth if the stranger was insulting.

now, miss Toula and tuna had not spent too much time in each other's presence, but tuna liked the queen enough to feel a protective spirit over her, especially in this time of change with the burial of her father. she would not allow for Toula to burden herself with tasks meant for the other servants.

while tuna does not carry herself highly around others in the red land, she comes before the stranger confidently and pauses before him. "yew 're at th'a domain of q'ween Toula and the l'an of the reeds," she comes to say to him in her classic drawl, "what brings yew?"

The desert has been nothing but static. A voice is the first to pierce it, short and holding in all odd places. A curiosity for future exploration.

He steps forward into the same stream of wind that ripples her tawny pelt, glistering like honey in the light. On her scent she carries all the riches of the palace: cedar, frankincense and myrrh.

"Iiti m Htp

Hello in peace

, speaker for the Land of Reeds. I am here to present well wishes to the Queen on her coronation, and to join the realm in celebration of her coregency.”

He dips his crown reverently, onyx ears holding their keep.“I am Sutekh, formerly of Shuyet. Ally to the kingdom of Akashingo.”

tags for an invitation to intercept if desired!

so word had finally gotten around it seemed, even the shadows of the wilds had heard the joyous news and invitations. Tuna, amongst the other fellahin, have been sent on their journeys wide and far to send word to the present and future allies to Akashingo to come for the coronation. it was meant to be a time of celebration, perhaps more for Toula if she found a proper husband to take.

a quiet hum and rise of her shoulders for a moment. the girl was unsure of the timeline to be welcoming the nobles and other suitors who would be present for such an important event. but she was even more unsure of how she was supposed to pick out the good breeding from the bad (though maybe that was a job she was meant to leave to Senmut rather than herself).

protective of toula but understanding of her duties, the lowly fellahin comes offer the nobleman a low bow of her head in a sign of respect. "th' lan' of akashingo welcomes y'ew, sutekh." she comes to stand now and sidestep to allow the man entrance to the holy sand. "come now, we'll haf 'ta find @Senmut , the viz'ier of queen @Toula 'erself." 

for now, Tuna would come to guide the man towards the throne room where the mighty woman may be found.

another suitor.

senmut would be at the side of the queen, seated lower than her. he would at that moment be whispering to her a joke or another, hoping to see her smile as the great responsibilities of akashingo fell to her.

when he left her, it was to hear the call itself. and he waited, a red statue in the corridor which moved forward as tuna brought the man into the house of the gods.

he met them in a small round intersection. the man was wrought of Anubis himself. "the queen sleeps," he said by way of excuse to delay the stranger, whom he now observed. "who have you brought to us, favoured of the Divine Consort?" senmut asked toward tuna, though his gaze did not leave the other wolf.

He is swept up the gilded mesa from the bleached day into the cool shade of the temple, pooling behind his escort through a vaulted hall adorned with fresco paintings, the air heavy with wolf scent and ritual oils. An auspicious day to see such splendor!

They are greeted by a red man draped with a pelt and the refined countenance of an aristocrat. The aforementioned Vizier, this one must be. Sutekh is beheld and he stands obediently, composed beneath his appraisal and waiting to be addressed with an amiable curl of lip.

she would lead him onto one of the many paths she learned from @Jawahir during her pilot tour of the red land. thankfully, a few spills here and there have led to Tuna being able to find her way around without getting lost. considering she was traveling with what seemed to be an esteemed guest, it was even more important to lead him onto the right path without any mistakes.

before they were able to get close, the sought-out Senmut appeared. Tuna would come to pause, offer him a drop of her head, and come to answer his question (favored of the divine consort sure had a nice ring to it, didn't it?)

"he is Sutekh, 'ere for th'a corah'nation and celah'bration of the dee-vine Toula." she was unsure if this man was a nobleman or perhaps from another lawless group in search of power. either way, Tuna preferred to leave these precious details to Senmut to discover for himself. "if miz toula rests, should 'ah bring him to her later? show 'im where he'sa staying 'an all?"

it was rude to interrupt royal beauty sleep, after all.

sutekh. at once senmut knew the name, at once he was laid low within himself at the design of Ma'at! to bring a very god of chaos to toula's court.

and yet her piety had balanced akashingo, her devotion to Iset.

"thank you. leave us for now," came the light command to tuna. "i will call for you again when it is time to escort our visitor to the hemet-nekheb." Divine Wife to the Gods, a weighty name that already sat like a golden coronet upon her delicate head.

and if there was no call, then this mysterious lithe shadow had been turned away from the palace. the prince meant to know all things.

senmut turned, meaning to lead sutekh along the path that would eventually take the pair to the top of the mesa. 

The red man imparts nothing, but is quick to whisk him away again once the Queen’s attendant is dismissed. The flurry of steps Sutekh is all too eager to pursue, every cursory glance feasting upon the shadowed corridors of limestone, deeper into the land of red. The crown of the mesa is vast and shined upon by the smiles of gods, an altar in its own right rising from the desert’s hearth. Sutekh comes to still before the Vizier Senmut with a reverential dip of nose and a fervent glint of eye.

The grace of a diplomat, but the hunger of a zealot.

her duties were fulfilled it seemed. senmut thanked her and soon sent her off for her other duties. another dip of the head for the both of them before she departs. perhaps she'd venture to find fruit to bring to toula when she would find her in a private moment, or perhaps to gossip with the other fellahin about the newest suitor at the gates of the holy land.

tuna left quickly and silently, following the path she was trained to know.

*exit tuna!* <3

<3

they were alone, but not until they came to the very top of the mesa did senmut speak. here was where a fellahin had lain in state, then a queen, then a pharaoh. the surface of the palace was vast and one could see in all directions the expanse of the territory commanded by akashingo alone.

since they had long hunted on the steppes, senmut too thought of that place as an extension of their dominion.

"have you come to bless the waters of akashingo, or have you come to curse them," he asked softly, the brilliance of his verdant eyes flickering holy fire as he settled their gemstone hardness on the newcomer.

Desert air weaves cold the words, thready in warning. His presence here raises a brassy alarm in Senmut, who is wisened to the ruse associated with such a namesake. Tread with great caution Sutekh will, who considers fully the question posed by the nobleman before giving a respectful bow in full.

“Ii m Htp, hello in peace, Honorable One. I am Sutekh of Shuyet, former Vizier of Kemet, friend to the land of Akashingo. I have come to share blessings on this momentous occasion, not to burn.”

“Sutekh is patron god to the pack Shuyet. We believe in the balance; that chaos is the brother to order, that in true harmony there can never be one without the other. We are devout followers of all the gods. No threat to the Pharaoh’s dominion, Honorable One.” An explanation given in earnest, though whether or not it will persuade the Vizier Senmut is unknown, as the red man remains fixed in stoney impasse.

“But I am stranger to these lands with baleful name upon the tongue. Please, allow me to prove in action my word is true to your court. I offer my service to the Queen of Akashingo, and her wolves, should they have me,” He'll proffer in good faith before the man.

Eyes hold wide; eager; awaiting judgment.

the man spoke favorable words, revealing himself.

for a long while, senmut said nothing. sutekh knew the holy words, the language that made the prince himself long for aswan and its ragged lands. 

"do you offer yourself in service or in hopes of being her choice in the year to come?" he further questioned, though the gravity of his voice had lessened somewhat, a test in the halls of justice being one that sutekh had passed.

Warmer comes the Vizier’s voice now, granite edges softening slightly. A man of the old kingdom, perhaps, who knows the true merit of old gods.

“I fear I am much too old for such considerations,” the silken voice laments. “My union is with the gods, Honorable One. But to pray in your halls, bless your pack, spread the word of old Kemet, this I offer in service.” His grin hinges, onyx strands catching reflection from the delightful closeness of the lambent Vizier.

Closer he tips his muzzle, quieter he draws his voice: “There is another service I offer, Honorable One, if the kingdom might find value in such a skillset. Ways of gathering information on behalf of Akashingo.”

senmut agreed, but age was of little consideration when it came to an apt pairing for a royal creature. the demur was noted, and yet this too could change. the throne of pharaoh was unseated, and it was too great a fixture to go unnoticed.

he looked contemplatively upon sutekh. "we have many priests, noble one," he said, offering a proper titling at last. "a spy is higher in demand." yes! at once he thought of the lake and the fellahin beside.

"as erpa-ha i oversee the mazoi. a wolf of skill must head them." here he rose, and turned, and pointed with slim muzzle toward the shimmering of water almost directly north. "in that place lives a former favourite of both the studying pharaoh and the buried one. nazli is her name. find her for me, see that she is well. speak with her, perhaps, if you can. there is enmity between they and the palace, so your tread must be careful."

there was a span of contemplative silence. "address her in my name, not as prince but only priest. do this for me, sutekh, and i will elevate you at once." binding fast and hard the chaos god to the gates of the palace, or so he hoped.

:EYES:!!

---

A pleasured sough parts the serpent’s jaws and with an elegant bow he’ll consent to the proposition as presented. “At once, your holiness.”

One skin shed, another grown for Akashingo.

exciting!! <33

as if he were smoke over the billow of a sacrifice, the man sutekh moved.

"walk with the gods." a dismissal, one rife with anticipation.

there was a fervent hope inside the high priest that nazli would wish to return.